
Portsmouth have had a difficult round three draw; they face Arsenal, who are currently top of the Premier League. Both sides will be looking to secure a place in the FA Cup fourth round.
Pompey have had a disappointing start to the current Championship campaign; they’re currently sitting in 21st, just one place above the relegation zone. The Blues haven’t kept a clean sheet in eight, and they had a poor result last time out against Bristol; John Mousinho’s side conceded five in a 5-0 loss.
However, Portsmouth will be looking to bounce back and what an opportunity they’ve got against the favourites for the Premier League title. After seeing Macclesfield defeat Crystal Palace today, you can’t write Portsmouth off.
Mikel Arteta’s side travels to Fratton Park in search of a convincing win to secure their place in the fourth round. The Gunners are currently top of the Premier League and six points clear of Manchester City in second. Arsenal have won four of their last five and come into this fixture on the back of a goalless draw against Liverpool.
Although Arsenal will understandably prioritise the Premier League and Champions League, where they are positioned at the top of both, their quality should still be too much for Portsmouth. The Gunners will be looking to go further than last season’s FA Cup campaign, as they got knocked out of the third round against Manchester United on penalties.
Arsenal have dominated recent meetings between the two sides. Across all competitive fixtures, the Gunners have won around 33 of roughly 71 encounters, with Portsmouth winning 14 and 24 matches ending in a draw. Since the early 2000s, Arsenal have remained unbeaten against Portsmouth, winning ten and drawing six of their meetings.
The last time the clubs met was six years ago in the FA Cup fifth round; Arsenal won 2-0 at Fratton Park. Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Nketiah were the goal scorers.
With Portsmouth looking to cause a huge upset and Arsenal expected to win comfortably, this is a highly anticipated fixture.
Louie Truman has taken a look at the odds for this match and has put his best bet forward.
Arsenal are heavy favourites coming into this fixture; they’re currently 2/11 to win on BetMGM. Piero Hincapié injured himself in Thursday’s goalless draw with Liverpool and will miss the game alongside Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera. This suggests Arteta will field a stronger defensive line with the likes of Ben White, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba looking likely to start.
Arsenal have had a great defensive record throughout the last couple of seasons and will aim to keep a clean sheet away at Portsmouth. The Gunners have won the FA Cup 14 times, most recently in 2020, securing silverware for Mikel Arteta in his debut season as manager; they shouldn’t slip up away at Portsmouth.
TIP: Both Teams Not To Score at 8/11 with BetMGM

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